In 1913 the government decided to construct a railway from Wyalkatchem to Mount Marshall (southeast of Bencubbin), and the Central Cowcowing Progress Association requested that land be set aside for a townsite at the proposed siding in this area. In 1914 the Jirimbi and Mulji Progress Association again requested a townsite here, and also in 1914 the proposed siding here was named Koorda at the suggestion of J Hope, the Chief Draftsman in the Lands Department. Hope took the name from a list of words obtained from a NoongarAboriginal in the Margaret River area, the meaning being given as a "married person". Problems regarding resumption of land for the townsite and the exact siting of the siding meant that the townsite was not gazetted until 1917.[3][4]